Man Jailed for Playing Game on Cell Phone Onboard Airplane

On September 10, 2002, a Manchester Crown Court in the UK found Fiaz Chopdat, 23, guilty of endangering the safety of an aircraft by using his cell phone to play a game during a flight. Chopdat was warned to turn his cell phone off several times throughout the flight. His refusal resulted in his arrest upon landing in Manchester. While Chopdat could have faced a maximum of a two year jail term, Judge Timothy Mort sentenced him to only four months in jail. Judge Mort called for the confiscation of all cell phones onboard airplanes given that switching on a cell phone could adversely affect the navigation of an airplane. For details, visit: http://europe.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/09/10/uk.plane.mobile/